Historic home: medieval gem for sale in Sowerby

One of the oldest and most distinctive houses in the village of Sowerby, Thirsk, is on the market for the first time in more than a century.

Oxmoor Farm on Front Street has been owned by the Bainbridge family for four generations and the distinctive three-bedroom property has a history that stretches back to the 14th century.The black and white half-timbered building was built as a farmstead and originally had animals housed on the ground floor below the living accommodation.These days, the Grade II listed house has lost none of its historic character but spacious living rooms and a modern kitchen have taken the place of the cowshed.Owners Angela and Miles Bainbridge and their three children have a special bond with Oxmoor Farm. Miles’ grandfather bought the property in the early 1900s and both he and his father grew up in the house.

The couple have put their own stamp on the property, which is on the market with Croft Residential for £650,000, and have modernised it but the house has remained structurally unchanged for generations.The family is cutting its ties with Oxmoor Farm as Miles is a builder and has ambitions to self-build a family home on a more rural site.“It has been such a special place and I feel very lucky to have lived here,” said Angela. “People often think of very old houses as draughty or uncomfortable places but this house is incredibly cosy, especially in the winter when we light the log-burning stoves in the living room and family room.”

With a host of quirky historic characteristics such as old stone floors and endearingly-angled walls, the building’s centuries-old beams are among its most stunning features.The property has a hall, family room, sitting room, study/fourth bedroom, a dining kitchen, utility room and a cloakroom. On the first floor, there are three double bedrooms and a bathroom. Outside, there is an enclosed, lawned garden, off-street parking, a barn and a games room/home office.

“We will miss Oxmoor Farm so much and it has certainly been a privilege to live somewhere where we have been surrounded by historic charm and beauty,” says Angela. “When we move it will be quite a novelty to live in a house where the walls are all totally perpendicular and the floors completely flat, it might even be quite boring.”

*Oxmoor Farm, Sowerby, Price: £650,000, www.croftresidential.co.uk